Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Next Volvo infotainment system will look like an iPhone

After more than a decade of disparate and clunky systems that have tried to force their ways of doing things upon our already-overloaded brains, it appears that smartphones and cars are finally going to be friends, after all. And by that, we don't mean that it's suddenly OK to text and drive. Rather, the infotainment systems in cars are finally going to have operating systems that mirror those of smartphones as they interact with your own phone.

2010 LA Design Challenge entrants revealed

Entries for the 2010 Los Angeles Design Challenge have now been revealed. The futuristic proposals, which called for designers to envision a 1000lbs (454kg) 2+2 vehicle that delivers comfort, safety and satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the emotional connection today's consumers demand from their vehicles, come from the west coast design studios of seven automakers – General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo. For the first time since the Challenge's inception, studios outside California have also been allowed to enter the competition.

MG Icon concept car at 2012 Beijing motor show

MG's new Chinese owners showed a Nissan Juke-alike concept car called the Icon at the 2012 Beijing motor show. Its footprint is identical to that of the original MG BT. Although a pure concept car, a spokesman confirmed that the study was a guide to what we could expect from future models from MG.